HYLI Vol XIX: Burzum and Oasis
Andy sends Patrick black metal by a self-proclaimed Nazi and Patrick sends Andy the best Britpop band who might also be the best band
I’m sorry Patrick couldn’t be here to write the intro. Something about hibernating after the Bucks lost to the Celtics (🤢) in the playoffs (Patrick: I’m right here, shut the fuck up about it). I’m not really sure what playoffs are (I’m a ✨Magic✨ fan) but I guess it messed him up real bad. Anyway, what’s up with you? Seen any good movies lately? The Northman was pretty cool. I didn’t see Dr. Strange but I bet it wasn’t as cool. Okay thanks!
Burzum - Filosofem
Andy: Let’s get this out of the way - Varg Vikernes is a piece of shit. Let’s leave it at that (you have Google and Wikipedia and your local library if you want to learn more about why he is a piece of shit). However, it would be a disservice to the history of black metal not to touch on Burzum. I do not actively spin Burzum, or other acts that take similar political stances but it is part of the genre’s sordid past. So we’re gonna separate man from art and listen to some Burzum.
To be honest, early Burzum is some A+ black metal. Intentionally lo-fi (Varg asked for the worst microphone the sound tech had and used an old helicopter headset), repetitive, cold, droning - very much started my itch with atmospheric black metal (Patrick: I have poison ivy right now and reading the word ‘itch’ made my neck itch. Thanks!). Varg tries a lot of stuff on this album - dropping drums entirely not even halfway through the album and then a 25-minute electronic track (extremely divisive in the black metal community). Jesus' Tod may be the best black metal track ever written.
Anyway, Hope You Like It.
Patrick: As a Jew, I tend to have a personal policy of avoiding things associated with self-proclaimed Nazis (Andy: Same). It’s just a personal choice made by yours truly. I was forced out of that policy by someone who claims to be a friend of mine (Andy: hm.). Really hurtful stuff. I’m struggling this week - as Andy pointed out my beloved ball team lost and as I pointed out I have blotches from goddamn poison plants given to me by my dog. It sucks shit.
Anyways, the Nazi guy. I know very little, if anything, about Varg other than a) he murdered a bandmate and b) he’s a Nazi (Andy: He also burnt down a bunch of churches). It really, truly, deeply sucks to find out he also is very good at music (Andy: It truly does). It would be so easy and so preferable for this to have sucked worse than Septicflesh so I can never listen to it again. It honestly would have been less annoying for it to be bad. Instead, it’s good as hell and I have to somewhat respect someone who seems to be a living turd, though that seems a little offensive to excrement.
I think my favorite tracks here are the first two: “Dunkelheit” and “Jesus’ Tod.” Personally, I preferred the more traditional black metal here: really sick guitar tones and I kind of love the buried in the mix/lofi nature of the vocals. There’s a fuzziness to the guitar that sounds like the speaker is ripping out as you’re listening that matches the vocals. As the album gets progressively more experimental, I tend to like it less. About 10 minutes into the electronic track, ahem, “Rundgang um die transzendentale Säule der Singularität,” I was losing steam and wishing for the guitars and vocals to come back. If this little piece of shit troll is going to make me listen to him, at least he could have the decency to shred again. Anyways, I really liked this idiotic album and that makes me hate myself.
Oasis - Standing On the Shoulder Of Giants
Patrick: Perhaps, if you’re reading this, you’ve heard me mention the band Oasis once or twice before (Andy: 😅). It is a bit of a personal brand of mine to be Extremely Loud Online about them. Anyways, most people think of their best two albums as their first two, with some true heroes occasionally caping for their third, the coke-fueled epic Be Here Now. I am not one of these people. I am a fool, and I ride extremely hard for their fourth album, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. By this point, the only band members of Oasis left were the Gallagher Bros., Liam and Noel, and drummer Alan White, who must have either had the patience of a God or enough drugs to kill God. Maybe both. Noel recorded all the guitars and bass and wrote nearly every song on his own. There’s weird beat-driven stuff; there are direct ripoffs of The Doors; there are regrettable songs about Liam’s son. It has everything. This album is fucked up and weird and loud, two of which are not things often associated with the Gallaghers. It’s basically a Primal Scream album that Rocks. I love it so much. I also really, really love the title of this being Standing on the Shoulder of Giants instead of plural shoulders. You’re just standing on one shoulder of multiple giants. Not both shoulders of the giants. Just one. Remarkably stupid and great. Hope You Like It.
Andy: I’m legit a bit nervous to write this cause I know how rock-hard Pat (Patrick: why) is about Oasis and I don’t want to ruin our friendship. I truly don’t know any Oasis other than “Wonderwall” and “Champagne Supernova” and the fact that the two brothers now hate each other and talk shit on Twitter. So I know basically nothing.
I love the balls to start this album with something as weird as “Fuckin’ in the Bushes.” So I was pretty here for it from the start. This is a great encapsulation of songs that on first pass I didn’t really care at all about but with subsequent listens I found them stuck in my head. “Go Let It Out,” “Gas Panic!” and “Put Yer (lol) Money Where Yer (lol) Mouth Is” were particularly good and/or catchy and “Sunday Morning Call” and “Little James” reminded me of little doo-doo stains in your tighty whities (Patrick: ?).
Overall, I’d say I enjoyed this after multiple listens. I think that is a credit to good songwriting in general (Patrick: indeed). I can’t say I love the general brit-pop style but good songwriting seems to make some songs enjoyable regardless. Interesting that most Oasis-Heads (is that the proper term?) seem to think this album isn’t great and the beginning of their decline in popularity. Does this mean I’ll like the other Oasis albums even more? I guess we will never know! I Liked It.